Hayfever season in full bloom

Hayfever season in full bloom - The West Australian

Fruit trees are blossoming as sneezes echo across Perth - a sure sign that spring has sprung.

According to the Weather Bureau, it has been an unseasonably warm and dry start to August.

"The average is 19C for August and so far we have averaged 21C," duty forecaster Shane Hicks said.

"It's also been fairly dry. We've had 4.8mm of rain since the start of August and the monthly average is 133mm."

He said rain expected at the weekend would bring an end to the sunny conditions, with a cold front due late on Sunday.

Carmel father and son stone fruit growers Garrie and John Vincenti said the sunshine had brought their nectarine flowers into bloom.

"It creates a really good seed set and means the bees are working really hard," Mr Vincenti Sr said.

He said though it was too early to tell how harvest would pan out, the family were on track for high volumes of fruit.

"We still have a long way to go but there is plenty of fruit coming on," he said.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia WA branch vice-president Stephen Wragg said hay fever was becoming more prevalent. "For the past five years, the number of hayfever sufferers seems to have increased," he said.